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And so it rolls around again — that day of the year when romance is hyped up to mega-watt proportions, a lack of cards sees many a door step stained with tears and restaurants jack up the price on a set menu for two to give a boost to their first-quarter margins. I suggest a cocktail or three to get you in the mood or get you through it, depending on your romantic state of mind…

I Luv Lucy

This comes from Michel Dozois who, as well as being a seasoned bar-smith, also runs Névé Ice, a bespoke ice company in Los Angeles. He says: “I made this drink for this beautiful woman, she loved it, and later became my girlfriend. So I named it after her.” Ah… the romance!

'I made this drink for this beautiful woman, she loved it, and later became my girlfriend. So I named it after her'

Michel Dozois

Pour 30ml good bourbon (Michel recommends Elijah Craig), 30ml Carpano Antica, 20ml lemon juice, 20ml sugar syrup and the white of one egg into a cocktail shaker. Shake without ice to emulsify the egg. Then add the ice and shake until cold. Strain into a sour glass. Top with two drops of bitters and, using a straw, use the bitters to draw a heart upon the drink. Serve at once.

The Agent Carter

I created this for the delicious Hayley Atwell to celebrate her title role in the television show Agent Carter. As red as her lips, as strong as her kick and packed with all the requisite sass, it’s the perfect drink to mix for the woman in your life. It features a raspberry shrub, which gives the drink its sweet-sharp quality, so you’ll need to put some effort in upfront to make it. (Note: we girls like it when you plan ahead — it shows you’ve been thinking about us…)

The drink was inspired by Hayley Atwell's character in Agent Carter

About a week in advance, mix together 300g fresh, washed raspberries with 225g caster sugar, bruising the fruit as you go. Then leave them to macerate in the fridge for a day, until they form a syrup. Strain off the syrup and pass the remaining raspberries and sugar through a sieve to remove and discard the seeds. Now mix the sugary purée and syrup with 225ml champagne vinegar, stirring to dissolve any remaining sugar. Store the mixture in a sterilized bottle in the fridge for about a week, shaking from time to time to make sure all the sugar has dissolved into the acid. And voila! Raspberry shrub.

To make the drink, fill a shaker with ice and stir together 60ml gin, 60ml raspberry shrub, 10ml red vermouth (I favour Belsazar for this) and 10ml orgeat. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry. Drink with one eye open. In case of villains.

The Palmetto

Brown, bitter and served with a twist, this may be the cocktail for those of you who didn’t get the appropriate cards and flowers. It is a beautifully simple yet sophisticated drink — a rum-based Manhattan, if you will.

'It is a beautifully simple yet sophisticated drink'Credit:
Alamy

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in 45ml Havana Club 7 year old rum and 45ml red vermouth (I love The Collector for this, a deep red and delicious potion from the chaps at The Ethicurean in Bristol) and a dash of orange bitters. Stir, stir, stir until as icy as your spurned heart. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel. Drink whilst holding in your pain…

A Pink Champagne Cocktail

If Valentine’s Day puts you in the mood for a romantic weepie, then this is the drink for you since it stars alongside Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in the beloved sob-athon An Affair To Remember. It is, after all, the drink that brings them together.

Use your favourite pink champagne to top up the glassCredit:
Alamy

In the movie, you’ll note that the bartender has pre-soaked his sugar cubes (presumably in both bitters and brandy) before topping up with the pink stuff. But since we’re a-wooing here, I’m going to make the drink properly: in the bottom of a champagne flute or coupe, soak a sugar cube with a good few dashes of Angostura bitters. Pour in 25ml of good French brandy (the better the deed, the better the Valentine’s Day, so let’s make this Remy Martin). Then top up the glass with your favourite pink champagne — which in my case would be Laurent-Perrier, Cuvée Rosé NV.

The Fine and Dandy

I think the Fine and Dandy is something of a forgotten gem. It’s fresh and sophisticated, and its pale peach hue is akin to the softest of skin… The thing is, I cannot find out where it came from. So, since every cocktail should have an origin story, here goes my theory: Fine and Dandy was a show written in 1930 by Kay Swift — the first woman to score a full Broadway musical, and a long time paramour of the legendary George Gershwin. It was a massive hit, and its title number was covered by everyone from Charlie Parker to Barbra Streisand. So I’m going to stick my neck out and say the drink was named for it.

On a side note, Kay Swift eloped with a rodeo cowboy in 1939. My kind of gal!

Fill a shaker with ice. Add 20ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 20ml Cointreau, 40ml gin and a good dash of Angostura bitters. Shake shake, shake until icy cold and strain into a beautiful glass. Sup with Peggy Lee’s recording playing in the background.

Neat Scotch

Yes, yes — it’s not a cocktail. But I think there is something very sexy and grown up about a stiff single malt at the end — or indeed the beginning — of a beautiful evening. It’s up to you what to choose your favourite, but I think it should be complex and deep — a little like your relationship.

'There is something very sexy and grown up about a single malt at the end of a beautiful evening'

For me, it’s got to be Bowmore’s limited edition Devil’s Cask III, aged for 10 years in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks. It has a rich, dark and exotic quality with a slightly salty tang. And it carries with it that hint of devilish temptation to add some sin to your seduction.

Pour a good couple of fingers of scotch into a sturdy glass that feels good in your hands. Add the merest splash of mineral water to bring out its aromas. Sip and watch out for that devil on your shoulder…

The Del Rio

The Del Rio: an elegant drinkCredit:
Alamy

Dolores Del Rio is one of my heroes. Effortlessly chic, achingly beautiful, she was also whip-smart and fiercely proud of where she came from. Her romance with the production designer Cedric Gibbons was one of the great Hollywood love affairs. In naming a drink for her, I wanted something that reflected her roots in the State of Durango, and which captured a hint of her elegance. So the mezcal and the bitters fly the flag for Mexico, the orange of the curaçao provides some citrus warmth, and the peach speaks both as a fruit of Durango and a Renaissance symbol for the heart. And the gardenia? Miss Del Rio always swore that eating gardenia blossoms maintained her flawless complexion.

Over a clean bowl, squeeze 2 ripe peaches (preferably flat peaches) by hand to release their juice, making sure you retain and discard all the pulp and skin. Then fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add 40ml mezcal reposado, 20ml Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao orGrand Marnier, 20ml of the freshly squeezed peach juice and a couple of dashes of Bitter Truth Xocolatl mole bitters. Stir until icy cold. Then strain out into a coupe, and garnish with a gardenia petal.

I Flip For Felicity

When my dear friend Felicity got married, I asked her what she’d like for a wedding present. “Well,” she said, “I could use a drink.” This is it. It’s based on the flip, arguably the oldest of cocktails, and certainly among the first of the American Classics, combining spirit and egg with sugar and spice. I’ve lightened it here, removing the egg yolk, and sharpened it up with a little lemon. And, with its hints of English rose and dashes of nuptial romance, need I say more?

'With its hints of English rose and dashes of nuptial romance, need I say more?'

Make sure you use a pure rose water for this. The quality of rose water varies enormously, so if yours happens to be made from a concentrate instead, only use a drop, otherwise the drink will taste like Turkish Delight.

Pour 50ml gin (ideally Beefeater — a proper London gin for a lovely London girl), 25ml lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup, 5ml pure rose water, the white of 1 egg and a good dash of Angostura bitters into a cocktail shaker. Shake hard to emulsify. Then add plenty of ice and shake until very cold. Pour out into a cocktail glass. It should be frothy, with a slight blush, and delightfully cold.

Pomegranate Americano (non-alcoholic)

I’m generally not a fan of pomegranate cocktails. I find them too tannic. But the ruby red fruit works very well here, its tartness and slightly metallic quality replacing both the vermouth and the Campari of a traditional Americano, while the generous quantity of bitters renders the booze redundant too. So it tastes grown up. And since the pomegranate is allegedly a cheeky aphrodisiac, what could be sexier?

Pomegranates work very well in a non-alcoholic AmericanoCredit:
Alamy

Fill a rocks glass with ice. Pour over 60–80ml pomegranate juice. Add a splash of soda. Now add 4–6 dashes of either Angostura bitters or your favourite orange bitters. Stir, and serve garnished with a slice of orange… and a wink.

'Since the pomegranate is allegedly a cheeky aphrodisiac, what could be sexier?'

Champagne. And just a whisper of clothing.

I end with this because nothing says “I love you” better than a cold, cold glass of truly great champagne. In the dark. With little on…

'The first rule of thumb is to choose your favourite champagne'Credit:
Alamy

The first rule of thumb is to choose your favourite. The one you love for the one you love. I will always melt for what I call the Veronica Lake of champagne. It’s blonde, it’s sassy and it has a seductive peek-a-boo quality, just like the lady herself. I give you Ruinart’s Blanc de Blanc. A sexier bottle you will not find. Nestle it into a bucket of ice. Put I Married A Witch into the DVD player. Dim the lights. Snuggle up with the one you love. And take it from there…

With extended opening until midnight this Valentine's weekend, why not enjoy some Lanson Champagne whilst watching the sun set with The View from The Shard? Visit Telegraph Tickets to book or call 0844 871 2118